My Son Wants to Be the Other Man

My son, Joey Parker, looked up at me, his face full of confusion.

"Daddy, Mr. Hayes gets to wear the million-dollar watch Mommy bought him, but you don't have anything like that. She even buys him silk suits, while you're always wearing those old, worn-out shirts.

"If being a homewrecker is so wrong, why does Mr. Hayes get so many nice things?"

Joey spoke with such innocent bewilderment that it was clear he genuinely couldn't understand what was wrong with it.

"All my classmates wanted to be homewreckers, too, after I told them about Mr. Hayes!"

I swallowed my anger, struggling to find the words to explain that things weren't as simple as he thought.

It wasn't that I couldn't divorce his mother, Amelia Brooks, or that I depended on her financially to survive. I'd stayed because I wanted our son to grow up in a complete family, with both parents by his side.

I'd never imagined that my sacrifice would lead him to see things so differently.

Noticing the look on my face, Joey assumed I was still feeling unwell from the fever I'd developed after getting soaked in the rain the other day. He quickly tried to reassure me.

"Daddy, remember when we got caught in the rain last time? Mommy made us get out of the car so Mr. Hayes could ride with her, and you gave me your umbrella because you were worried I'd catch a cold. You ended up getting soaked and coming down with a fever.

"Next time, I'll bring an extra umbrella so you won't get sick again!"

Before I could respond, the sound of the front door unlocking interrupted us.

Amelia was home.

She walked in holding an iced latte and gave me an apologetic look.

"I had to work late today, so I couldn't be here for your birthday. I picked this up on my way home to make it up to you."

I didn't respond.

The vivid red hickey on her neck made my nerves scream in protest.

I'd once believed I could keep turning a blind eye to things like that forever, but now I realized just how impossible it was to ignore that glaring red mark.

She'd barely taken a step toward me when Joey rushed over to stop her.

"Mommy, you got it wrong! Mr. Hayes is the one who likes lattes! Daddy's allergic to milk!"

Then he added, "Mr. Hayes likes expensive things. He likes black, and he likes lattes! You've talked about Mr. Hayes so much at home that I've memorized all his favorite things!"

Joey looked up at his mother, genuinely puzzled.

"Mommy, is Mr. Hayes really that important to you? Otherwise, how come you remember all his favorite things but can't even remember Daddy's?"

Amelia's smile froze.

Normally, I would have stepped in to change the subject, giving her a graceful way out and sparing our family the embarrassment—but not today.

She cleared her throat a couple of times before claiming she'd simply been too busy and had mixed up our drink preferences.

Then she set a few fancy takeout containers of leftovers on the table and headed into the bedroom.

"I brought home some food from a business dinner. Just heat it up when you're hungry, so you won't have to cook."

Joey stared at the expensive-looking containers with undisguised envy.

"Mommy must have taken Mr. Hayes out for another fancy dinner. He's so lucky! He gets to eat with Mommy every day."

He turned to me, his little face full of curiosity. "Daddy, when will Mommy ever have dinner with us?"

I didn't know how to answer. Instead, I ran a hand over his head in silence.

Over the years, there had been precious few days when Amelia hadn't worked late. Even on our son's birthday, she'd walked out without a second thought after receiving a phone call from her secretary, Sebastian Hayes.

It wasn't as though I'd never considered divorce. But every time I brought it up, someone would talk me out of it.

"Just put up with it for the sake of the child."

"How could a grown man possibly raise a child on his own? You know how important a mother is to a child."

"Kids need both parents. How can you expect a child to grow up happy without his mom?"

Those words had kept me trapped in the same miserable marriage for years, and Amelia knew it. That was precisely why she'd dared to push things so far, confident that I'd never leave.

In the past, I'd endured everything without seriously considering walking away—even when people mocked me for being a pretty boy living off a woman or sneered that I was nothing more than a sugar baby supported by my wealthy wife.

But today, I'd finally reached my limit.

I looked at my son and spoke gently.

"Whatever you want to eat, I will take you out for it. And if someone doesn't want to come home to us, we don't have to wait for them anymore."

Joey nodded as though he understood what I meant.

"Okay! As long as I have you, Daddy, that's all I need."

I smiled faintly and ushered him into his room before returning to the living room.

By then, Amelia had changed clothes and came out of the bedroom. The vivid red mark on her neck was impossible to miss.

I let out a cold laugh and looked away.

"Let's get a divorce."